Hitch’s cartoons out of line

Saturday

Jan 26, 2013 at 6:00 AMJan 26, 2013 at 10:01 AM

The Telegram & Gazette’s cartoonist, David Hitch, has a tendency to make crude generalizations about large swaths of Worcester residents. Last April, he drew a cartoon attacking college students who, in his opinion, are more interested in partying than getting jobs.

In his Jan. 24 cartoon, he alleges that residents of public housing are cheating the government out of money. While it may be true that some college students may not always live up to Mr. Hitch’s standards, and it may be true that fraud does exist in public housing, Mr. Hitch seeks to tar everyone with the same brush.

In his world view, all college students are loafers, all public housing residents are cheats. Other recent targets have included college professors, people who believe that climate change is not a hoax ... I could go on.

It’s one thing to make political arguments, it’s another to simply insult people Mr. Hitch does not like.

Your newspaper would find it inexcusable were an editorial writer to make these sorts of generalizations.

If it’s not OK to say these things in a column, it should not be OK to do so in a cartoon. Mr. Hitch’s cartoons are clearly not in line with the views of the majority of Worcester citizens. It is time for the Telegram & Gazette to consider running cartoons that reflect the values of its readership. There are plenty of talented cartoonists in Worcester who might jump at that opportunity.